The concept of author Voice is so elusive, it’s can feel like a loose football, bouncing around the field (she says as she watches the Giants and 49er’s chase the ball). Just when we think we have a grip on it, it wiggles out of our hands. Voice, easily expressed, is your storytelling style. Words and plot and character – and how you weave these together. Much like an actor dons a role, bringing their own style to a script. Although we can work to recognize Voice and even analyze it by finding great style in other works, we don’t really discover our Voice until we put the pen to page. Until we write words that make our own hearts sing. Here’s a trick I’ve used to develop my voice: […]
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The Fast Draft – Should you or shouldn’t you?
I’m fast drafting a novel right now. Last night, after dinking around all day, I told myself to “get to it” and blasted out 2000 words in an hour. Give or take a minute or two. I’m near the end of a book so I know a bit of what’s going on. I have a feel for the characters and the story. Those random conversations characters have together started running randomly through my head a few weeks ago. Next week, I’ll end this fast draft and start rewriting. Most of the beginning of the story will change, I already know. The middle needs a lot of tweaking. With that in mind, I hope my ending is the most stable part of this fast, first draft. I’ll have things at the […]
Read the RestFabulous Friday Fiction: Reverse Santa Clause
What if….what if Santa really did give out coal? Or worse…what if he took things away? I remember one Christmas, back in my rebellious teenage years, when my parents, furious at me, took my presents away for a day after Christmas, just to teach me to be grateful. True Story. I deserved it, I promise. They had the guts to teach me about gratitude and it sunk in. I’m extremely grateful for the many, many gifts God has blessed me with over the years, especially the MBT Voices, and those who read this blog and my novels. I’m also very blessed to help aspiring novelists develop their stories as a writing coach. Often, I will endorse these books when they are published. Sometimes I even review them on my blog. And sometimes, […]
Read the RestMBT Christmas Sale!
Give the gift of helping someone achieve their dreams this Christmas! To celebrate the season, MBT is offering a store-wide 25% off sale on our products! Okay, it’s Shameless Promotion day at MBT! To celebrate Christmas, we’re slashing our prices on our entire store by 25%! (Deets on the bottom on how to get this great savings on your entire order!) But you might be wondering…what’s in the store? Well, there’s: From the Inside-Out: Discover, Create and Publish the Novel in You. It’s my foundational writer’s guide to creating a novel, from idea to publishing. It’s our best-seller, and makes a great gift for someone who just needs to learn the basics. Then…there’s Deep and Wide: Advanced Fiction Techniques. This is the advanced guide to writing a novel – all […]
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